Not only last night, but for the last several weeks. Loafing it and being content to take balls on a bounce is unacceptable. Not saying he has to dive for every one, but the ball last night that dropped in front of him was definitely catchable. Willy T was behind him too just in case he missed and the ball got away. That cost us a run . I like Wilson and I am hoping for him to succeed, but the guy is not producing with the bat and now he's costing us with his glove too. While Lamb is hot, I would move Berkman to left and put Lane back in right. Maybe sitting on the bench for a couple of games will give Wilson the chance to remember what hustle is.
Lane needs to sit. Burke needs to play, PERIOD! I mean, in a week. After he rehabs. Wilson will eventually hit some ... not many, but some. Lane sucks, & should play for Tampa Bay.
Burke is playing at RR right now, he is back on Monday I think. He is ready. Burke in Left, Puma in Rt, and Lamb at 1b is our best OF, right now. With Lane and Wilson splitting time as the 4th outfielder when Burke goes in to spell Biggio. IMHO, Burke should play almost every day.. DD
I would rather have Berkman at 1st than in left field. But if the offense is struggling you gotta shake things up. But I dunno, the offensive struggles during the Giants series might have to do with Berkman being out more than anything. Wilson is hitting better (not by much though) and I'd still like to believe Lane will pick it up eventually. Plus if you put both Lamb and Burke into a starting position, then you have Lane coming off the bench in ph situations. And I'd rather have Burke or Lamb in that role.
I think Garner was just really peeved after the Giants series, and he decided to make a change... for the sake of making a change. There have been studies shown that players tend to hit better when they're fielding a position that they feel more comfortable at (even to the point that guys that platoon between DH and 1st somehow end up hitting better when they play 1st). I'm pretty sure Berkman LOVED playing at 1B (that chatterbox), and I also feel that Lamb is a great weapon off the bench... but he just doesn't give that same sort of production game-in, game-out. I'm pretty sure you haven't seen the last lineup change this season.
I didn't expect much out of Wilson, and boy has he delivered! I'd rather see Burke in LF. I bet he might produce more total bases than Wilson and play better D too. I think the future is now for Burke. He looks like a young Biggio to me.
At least Hunter Pence is hitting well in AA. He's batting .315 with 12 homers and an OPS a little over 1.000.
I bet our outfield next year is Burke, Willy T, and Pence. Maybe not the beginning of the year, but most of it.
Does Wilson remind you of Swift: a "good deal" that doesn't give you a good deal? A flashy dunk, hit, or play submerged in an ocean of mediocrity. Both teams "hyped" these acquistions, BUT, they KNEW what they were getting. They appeased the fans, at least temporarily, sold a few tickets, made a few highlight reels, BUT didn't really help either team. Aren't you tired of this approach to "discount" team-building?
A little different... the Rockets were hoping they could release some untapped potential in Swift, and make him into a legitimate starting PF in the west. The fact that two previous (great) coaches, and a HOF GM didn't see this in him apparently didn't faze the Rockets... perhaps that should have. With Wilson, the Astros know exactly what they're getting... a guy who will K a ton, will have a mediocre batting avg. (~.260), but has the ability to hit 25-30 HR's for you. I'm not sure if that's the right way to build a team (I prefer high OBP, and low K numbers in a player... over simply HR's)... but the Astros obviously thought they needed somebody who could play long-ball. The season isn't over yet... and I still feel Wilson will knock in around 28 HR's by the end of the season. And if he does that, that's apparently all the Astros wanted.
The Astros HAVE to keep Preston K. in the lineup. They haven't had anybody lead the league in strikeouts since 1972!! This could be a groundbreaking year.
